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Meaning & use

rupee

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ruːˈpiː/
US/ruˈpi/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    The basic unit of money in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and some other countries.

    Grammar: Countable: one rupee, ten rupees.

    Patterns

    • a rupee coin
    • pay in rupees

    A cup of tea cost just twenty rupees.

    The tourist changed dollars into rupees at the airport.

    Prices in the market were listed in rupees.

  2. nouncountable

    A coin or banknote of this currency.

    Grammar: Used when speaking about a single coin or note.

    Patterns

    • a one-rupee coin

    He found a rupee on the street.

    She handed the driver a ten-rupee note.

    The old rupee coin was made of silver.

Word forms

pluralrupees

Common combinations

Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is divided into 100 paise.
exchange rupees
We exchanged dollars for rupees.
rupee coin
He dropped a rupee coin into the box.
rupee note
A hundred-rupee note is common.
in rupees
The bill came to 500 in rupees.

Synonyms and how they differ

currency
Currency means any national money, while rupee names one specific kind.
cash
Cash means physical coins and notes of any currency, whereas rupee names a specific one.
paisa
Paisa is a hundredth part of a rupee.

Word family

rupees noun
plural of rupee
paisa noun
a small unit worth one hundredth of a rupee
currency noun
the money system of a country
Indian adjective
relating to India

Commonly confused: rupee or rupiah?

rupee vs rupiah

The rupiah is the currency of Indonesia, not of India.

Practice

The tourist changed her dollars into ____ before traveling around India.

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